This FAQ section is meant to provide answers to 90% of all undegraduate advising questions. If you cannot find the answer to your particular questions in this section, please send an email to
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What is Chemical Engineering?
Modern technologies require the ability to produce specially designed chemicals, and the materials based on them, economically and with minimal adverse impact on the environment. Developing this ability and implementing it on a practical scale is what chemical engineering is all about.
Chemical and biological engineering is distinguished from the other engineering disciplines (mechanical, electrical, civil, aerospace, architectural, ...) primarily by its focus on chemical transformation -- creating new products of use to mankind through chemical reactions between raw materials or intermediates. Such products require purification and packaging for distribution and raw materials require proper handling and preparation. Chemical engineers must deal with all these aspects and more.
Imagine a world where penicillin and other antibiotics are rarer and more expensive than the finest diamonds. Imagine countries worldwide gripped by famine as dwindling supplies of natural guano and saltpeter cause fertilizers to become increasingly scarce. Imagine hospitals and clinics where kidney dialysis is as risky and as uncertain over the long term as are today's artificial heart replacements. Imagine serving on a police force or in the army without a lightweight bulletproof vest. Imagine your closet with no wash-and-dry, wrinkle-free garments, or your home without durable, easy-cleaning, mothproof carpets. Imagine cities choked with the smog and soot from millions of automobiles without emission controls. Imagine an "information society" trying to function using vacuum tubes for processing and ferrite core memory devices. Imagine paying $25 or more for a gallon of gasoline, even if you could buy it, and using it at a rate of 12 miles per gallon because your all-metal vehicle is so heavy. Such a world, in which no one would want to live, is what we would face if it weren't for the efforts of chemical engineers.
Chemical and biological engineering has a rich past and a bright future. One hundred years ago there were virtually no chemical engineers. In barely a century, its practitioners have developed and erected the technological infrastructure of much of modern society. Without their contributions, industries as diverse as petroleum processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing, food processing, textiles, and chemical manufacturing would not exist as we know them today.
Chemical and biological engineers have made so many important contributions to society that it is difficult to visualize modern life without the large-volume production of antibiotics, fertilizers and agricultural chemicals, special polymers for biomedical devices, high-strength polymer composites, and synthetic fibers and fabrics. How would our industries function without environmental control technologies, without processes to make semiconductors, magnetic disks and tapes, and optical storage devices, and without modern petroleum processing?
What are the Job Opportunities in Chemical Engineering?
Chemical engineering occupies a special place among scientific and engineering disciplines. It is an engineering field with roots in the world of atoms, molecules, and chemical transformations. The principles and approaches that make up chemical engineering have a long history of contributions to the world's technological needs. Chemical engineers play a key role in many industries: petroleum, food, synthetic fibers, petrochemicals, plastics, ceramics, metals, glass, pharmaceuticals, and specialty chemicals. All these depend on chemical engineers to tailor manufacturing technology to the requirements of their products.
A Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering or chemical and biological engineering prepares you for a professional career in many industries. A recent report provides the breakdown in the table below for the employment of recent BS ChE graduates.
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Biotech. & Pharm.
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10%
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Chemicals
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31%
|
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Eng’g Services
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8%
|
|
Electronics
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4%
|
|
Environment
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4%
|
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Food & Cons. Prod.
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11%
|
|
Energy & Fuels
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21%
|
|
Materials
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2%
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Other
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9%
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Many of these jobs involve technical challenges, using the principles learned in your curriculum, to design and operate chemical and manufacturing processes. Others involve business management, economic evaluation, and sales. Approximately 20% of chemical engineering graduates go on to graduate or professional school in order to prepare themselves for medical, research or teaching careers. All career paths for chemical engineers place a premium on communication skills, both oral and written. There are virtually no highly successful chemical engineers who are not excellent communicators.
Job opportunities for chemical engineers tend to follow the cycles of the economy. During good economic times, BS ChE graduates may have many job offers from which to choose. During bad times, jobs may be difficult to find. A few years of practical experience will generally add to your ability to find employment. It is not good practice to predict your own first job opportunities based on today's economic conditions, since there may be substantial change by the time you graduate. Such is the world we live in.
You can improve your chances for full-time employment following graduation by achieving your academic potential, improving your inter-personal and communications skills, and by seeking summer or part-time internship jobs.
What are the Frontiers in Chemical and Biological Engineering?
Chemical engineers have an important role to play in bringing new technologies to commercial implementation. These technologies have their origin in scientific discoveries on the molecular scale. Chemical engineers understand the molecular world and are skilled in integrating product design with process design, process control, and optimization. Using these skills, some of the new frontiers to which chemical engineers will contribute increasingly are:
- biotechnology and public health
- electronic, photonic, and recording devices
- advanced materials
- energy resources and their processing
- environmental protection and remediation
The work of chemical engineers over the past decades has moved more and more from large scale to molecular scale. Current developments in nanoscale phenomena and cellular and sub-cellular biology mark this trend. Chemical engineers are embracing this trend while continuing their strong contributions in more traditional areas.
- an ability to apply knowledge of mathematics, science, and engineering
- an ability to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data
- an ability to design a system, component, or process to meet desired needs
- an ability to function on multi-disciplinary teams
- an ability to identify, formulate, and solve engineering problems
- an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility
- an ability to communicate effectively
- the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global and societal context
- a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning
- a knowledge of contemporary issues
- an ability to use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice
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